re: San Diego - La Jolla - Now with Trip Review !!

Ok we are back and had a great time. For the most part, unlike most of our trips, we really had no plans or schedule to stick to and it worked out well. I will post pictures in the near future.

Lets start with the weather. It was unusually cloudy and rainy for a few days but it did not hamper the trip. Their idea of rain and our idea of rain in Louisiana are not the same. A cloudy days means 50 % sunshine. Rain is really a drizzle and did not slow us down at all. It fact, it was kind of relaxing knowing how dry the west can be .

Day 1 - We had great flight MSY to SAN on Southwest and got a fantastic upgrade from a mid size SUV to an Infinity QX60 for simply asking. My daughter had to have "In and Out Burger" so that was really our dinner night one. I don't get the fascination or the long lines every time we have gone there because to me it's just an average burger but it met the need.

We drove an hour east to Pine Valley in the "mountains" The altitude was 4K so while not the Rockies it was certainly not flat like home. We had rented, via AirBnB, a guest house on a really nice property with a nice view and well maintained grounds. It was everything it was advertised to be and it was really nice to just relax and enjoy the scenery.

Day 2 - We went to town for breakfast/coffee the next day. The town only had 1 sleepy restaurant and 2 mini stores you really had to go 15 miles to Alpine, CA to go shopping or to a drug store etc.

We went up the mountain (all of this is in the Cleveland National Forest but still in San Diego County) to the Mt Laguna and they had some really nice views into the desert from ridges and was a great drive of a few hours stopping here and there for scenic views. This is also part of the Pacific Crest Trail and they had a lot of state run campgrounds up there and it would be a great place to camp if that is your thing. We drove about 40 mile loop to Desert View picnic area and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and had lunch and pie at Lake Cuyamaca Restaurant Lunch was decent and we were hungry but the mountain berry pie pie was excellent and we got extra to go back to the room. We went to Alpine , shopped at "Sprouts" grocery store and got a bunch of fresh fruit and other healthy snacks. We grilled burgers and portabella mushroom and fresh corn on the deck for dinner that night at the room. Really nice day even though it rained a little.

Day 3 - Ate healthy breakfast in the house, drove around in some valleys, went to antique stores in town etc.. and then packed to head to the city!!

Days 3- 7 La Jolla/San Diego ...........to be continued